Sochi

U.S. Ski Teamer Marco "Sully" Sullivan talks Olympic training and philosophies on the sport he loves.

As a Lake Tahoe native and longtime racer, Marco Sullivan has grown up with skiing on his mind. While injuries plagued him in 2004 and 2005, leading to a lackluster few years, he won his first World Cup in 2008. And he’s been strong since.

We chased down the U.S. Ski Teamer to talk about his experience, his wisdom and the Olympics.

The U.S. alpine racer dishes on Olympic prep and ski racing in the States.

Growing up in a family of skiers, it was only a matter of time before U.S. Ski Teamer Travis Ganong found himself in a position to leave his mark on the international skiing community. So with the 2014 Winter Olympics right around the corner, Skiing caught up with the medal hopeful on his training, approach to the Games, and the future of the U.S. racing scene.

The Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia are still a few years away. That's good news, because there's still a lot to be done to prepare the resort. Here's an update on the progress, and the latest on the inclusion of halfpipe skiing.

The Sochi Winter Olympics are still three and a half years away, which is good from a skiing standpoint, since the primary competition venue is still under construction and what could be the most electrifying event — halfpipe skiing — has not yet been approved by the International Olympic Committee.

But among those responsible for ensuring the 2014 games don’t embarrass Russia or its proud winter heritage, the Olympics are well under way.

Luke Bodensteiner, the U.S. Ski Team’s athletic director, recently returned from a visit to Sochi, Russia, home of the 2014. He sat down for an interview with colleague Elizabeth Karam to describe his impressions. See below.

We know it’s a big deal that the FIS will recommend women’s ski jumping for inclusion in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, but we can’t help being more excited about the possible inclusion of both men’s and women’s ski halfpipe.

It’s not a done deal yet by any means, but at its 2010 meeting in Antalya, Turkey, the International Ski Congress of the FIS voted this week to formally recommend to the International Olympic Committee that women’s ski jumping and both men’s and women’s ski halfpipe be included in the 2014 games, along with snowboard slopestyle and team snowboardcross.

How much time is enough time to make a good Olympics? Ten years before the opening ceremonies? Four years? How about two years? The slopes for the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, Russia, will first open for World Cup competition in 2012, just two years before the first Olympic athlete will set ski upon them. And that's if everything goes according to plan -- a big if, if recent Olympics are anything to go by.

Ten years ago, if you'd have told us there would one day be skiing in the desert, we would've told you to lay off the après. Of course, today you can ski -- albeit indoors -- at a year-round snow dome in Dubai.